1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a data processing device for commissioning MES components, particularly maintenance management components.
2. Description of the Related Art
“Software für die Automatisierung—Transparenz über die Abläufe schaffen” (which can be translated as “Software for automation—providing transparency through the sequences”), an article by Dirk Kozian in Electronik für die Automatisierung 11, Nov. 17, 1999 discloses the practice of using “manufacturing execution systems” (MES) for automating production and manufacturing sequences. These systems integrate the automation level (Controls) with the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems on the enterprise command level. Manufacturing execution systems are systems which provide information for optimizing production sequences, for example. First, the manufacturing execution systems need to add installation-specific, current fine planning data to the ERP system's coarse planning data and forward these fine planning data to the subordinate automation level as appropriate, and secondly they have the task of adopting production-related information from the automation level, editing this information and reporting it further to the enterprise command level. MES systems thus perform the task of vertical integration between the enterprise command level and the automation level. Typical individual tasks of MES systems are enterprise asset management, maintenance management, information management, scheduling, dispatching and trace & track. These tasks are each performed by MES components. In order for an MES component to be able to operate, it requires information about other components or possibly also about the overall structure of the installation. Today, this information is generally input manually into the MES components by the system integrator or the commissioner. The information about the installation structure is usually contained in engineering documents (e.g. P&ID, Pipe & Instrument Diagram or measurement point lists).
JP 0144453 discloses the practice of generating a list of equipment information for installations from the graphical information in P&ID diagrams.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,647 discloses a system and a method for integrating a business environment, i.e. a business management environment, an automation environment and a laboratory environment.
DE 199 48 028 A1 describes a method and a system for optimizing the sending of requests in workflow management systems.